Colon
Cancer – DNA gets ‘switched off’ and allows Tumor Growth

April 24th, 2006

DNA

Researchers from
Sydney’s Garvan Institute along with a collaborative effort with Spanish
scientists have led to new understanding how cancer cells take over and
tumors grow. They discovered in the process of colon cancer that large
areas of DNA are turned off allowing for the growth of tumors. The
study was first reported in the Nature Genetics, April 23rd
edition.

The lead
researcher Sue Clark, who is an Associate Professor at the Garvan
Institute said, "These large regions – referred to as suburbs – contain
genes that normally function to prevent the development of tumours."

Cancer takes over
when normal controlling mechanisms within a cell malfunction. Cells are
told when to grow and when to die. The researchers believe that the
regulations of the cell activities are changed by DNA damage. The DNA
will become changed and large section of the chromosomes will be
removed. There is also a possibility that the cancer can also cause
gene silencing to occur. This silencing is called ‘epigenetics’.